On 24 October 2023, ENGAGE hosted an online gathering of 34 people to SET THE TABLE for the 2024 Minnesota Legislative Year. The premise was “laws make a difference”. Those states with strong and fair gun laws are also the most gun safe.…

A conversation with John Johnson, ELCA Program Director for Domestic Policy, yielded steps forward for GVP. John shared the story of Episcopal Bishops who have organized a united witness for GVP. Inspiring! The ELCA bishops can learn from our Episcopal friends. The differing…

The character of Holy Baptism is presented in the EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN WORSHIP, between pages 225 and 237. From birth to adulthood, Holy Baptism defines the substance of Christian discipleship. Parents, sponsors, confirmands and adults are called to profess their faith and obedience to…

The 2nd Amendment has been used and abused to justify unbridled gun purchases and unfettered use resulting in murder in the mass and tragedy of grief. The Christian is graced and called to a discipleship of perspective love in addressing this bloody pathos.…

All too frequently we hear that gun violence is the #1 cause of death of youth and children. In my youth we heard of measles, mumps polio and chickenpox. Now, they are down the list. Shari, a California GVP friend, alerted me to…

Dear Senator and Representative, As of this morning there have been 131 mass shootings in the United States. The ratio of gun deaths between other western developed nations and the United States is 25:1. Honestly, do 400 million guns keep us safe? I…

Resolutions are written or verbal commitments. Resolutions can be personal commitments or can invite a group to engage a commitment. What follows is a model resolution usable for your personal or group, council or assembly commitment. It is a model call to action…

Such are the words from a song titled “It is Time”. The chorus goes: “It is time, it is time, it is time to say enough. It is time to say no more. It is time, it is time, it is time to…

I write of individual gun purchase and use for violence against the innocent. The weight of 47,000 gun deaths in 2022 is individualism turned in upon itself. The shooter becomes the center, the arbiter of life and death, the anomie of despair, a…

Isaiah 9:2 provides a hope-filled Advent promise in our darkening age of increasing gun violence: “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness – on them light has shined.” The coming…